SAP (NYSE:SAP) Downgraded by Erste Group Bank to "Hold"

Key Points

• SAP has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Erste Group Bank, signaling a shift in market sentiment regarding the company's stock.
• Despite the downgrade, SAP continues to attract positive attention, with various firms issuing ratings ranging from "strong-buy" to "overweight" and an average price target of $281.67.
• Following strong quarterly earnings, SAP's stock price remains stable, currently showing a slight increase of 1.2% as it trades near $279.18.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SAP. UBS Group upgraded SAP to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen cut SAP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on SAP from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of SAP in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on SAP in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.67.

SAP Stock Up 1.2%

SAP stock opened at $279.18 on Thursday. SAP has a twelve month low of $210.38 and a twelve month high of $313.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock's 50 day moving average is $296.44 and its 200-day moving average is $285.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a PE ratio of 46.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.27.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The software maker reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $10.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. SAP had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.26%. SAP's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that SAP will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SAP by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,157,321 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $4,305,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,616 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of SAP by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,662,809 shares of the software maker's stock worth $446,364,000 after acquiring an additional 60,261 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of SAP by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,512,724 shares of the software maker's stock worth $406,076,000 after acquiring an additional 40,926 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SAP by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,318,908 shares of the software maker's stock worth $354,048,000 after buying an additional 80,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of SAP by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,314,814 shares of the software maker's stock worth $323,720,000 after buying an additional 70,613 shares during the last quarter.

About SAP

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.